An Unexpected Testimony

My cousin Max lent me a DVD of a health talk and asked me to recommend it to Mum. When I was back this weekend, we watched it together.

There are many ways to avoid hypertension, first of which is keeping a merry heart. Mum said, "It's much easier said than done."

I told her, "If you look at men, many things will upset you. If you focus on God and let Him handle your worries, you'll have a joyful heart."

Later, I invited Mum to a shopping mall near our house. We stepped into the Store's ladies department after going to a few shops. I was looking at clothes on promotion, when I saw Mum start talking to a lady with a girl behind. I approached them and realized that it was my cousin BT's wife XM with their daughter.

When XM was married to my cousin, my first impression on her appearance was that she was skinny. Once when we were at the same table in a restaurant for a family occasion, she told me that her waist measurement remained twenty-two inches even when her stomach was very full! As a teenager, my waist would not reach that measurement even after I had starved for three days!

She lived with the in-laws in Senggarang, so we hardly met. When my grandmother passed away, my family spent a couple of days there for the wake services and funeral. XM talked a lot to me despite our age gap. I felt closer to her than my aunt's daughters.

Sometimes I heard news about XM: her gain of weight, the birth of her first child, the death of the baby later, the birth of her following children, her conflict with my aunt, her great loss of weight, her moving out from the in-laws' house with her husband and children, etc. I saw her on very rare occasions. She was already a mother of two toddlers. Her bony frame stunned me but I never had an opportunity to chat with her like before.

One or two years ago, I saw her having a meal with her children in an eatery in the same shopping mall. I could not believe my eyes. She was a skeleton! I simply walked away but the sight of her physical condition remained in my mind.

This time, in front of me was a pretty lady who looked younger than her age, and slender rather than thin. And XM was still as friendly as more than fifteen years ago!

Her family moved back to my uncle's house after my aunt had passed away last year. Her troubles did not end without the mother-in-law. But who had transformed her?

I had been told that one of my cousins recently had embraced the Christianity because of his wife. I was wondering if XM's husband was the one. So I directly asked her in front of Mum, "Have you accepted the Lord?"

"Yes. I'm a Christian."

"Me too!"

I think Mum was only interested in discussing issues of our two families. But I was more eager to listen to her testimony. So I excitedly interrupted them, "I'd like to find out how you've known Jesus!"

"You know, I'd been struggling with my family matters for years. I was very desperate. I lost weight to 27 kilos until I was dying. Then someone brought me to Jesus. At first I didn't know anything about Him but when I believed, I was really saved."

"Praise the Lord! Which church do you attend now?"

She gave me the name of the road. Then she went on, "My father-in-law is still mourning for his dead wife. And he is in deeper depression since his sons have become Christians. If I go to church, I must not let him know. I haven't been to church for one month because I don't want to upset him. Please don't tell my family what I've said to you."

Both Mum and I reassured her. I encouraged XM, "Now you've Jesus in you. If anything makes you sad, don't keep it to yourself. Just tell Jesus. He'll comfort you. If anyone bullies you, don't feel bitter. Just pray for them and ask God to bless them, then we don't carry any emotional burdens anymore." The message was conveyed to Mum as well.

"It's true! I've tried and it's worked!" XM did not hesitate to agree.

"I'll pray for you. If you have a chance to attend the Sunday service again and if I'm also around, maybe we can join you in your church. I'd like to bring my mum."

Mum said nothing to object.

XM was not sure when she could declare her faith in public again. She glanced at her watch and realized that she had to go. I took her cell phone number so that I could contact her later.

Mum said to her, "I'm very glad to see that you're well and pretty now. You can still earn a few more kilos!"

XM answered, "Actually I'll prefer to be slimmer."

I commented, "You're just nice like this."

She left with her daughter. Mum and I also headed towards the ground floor to buy grocery. I could not stop smiling when thinking of XM. Finally I told Mum, "Do you know that God has just answered my prayer? I'd been praying for occasions to share with you testimonies about Jesus. Had we stayed longer in other shops, we wouldn't have encountered XM. Don't you think God was the One who arranged that?"

Mum seemed to approve. Anyway, the fact that she had seen XM in a healthier state also added more joy to her already happy day.

"You saw how different she looks now? God has transformed her. God loves her; God also loves you."

For the first time, Mum repeated after me, "God loves me."